Doubts over BMW finale with course unplayable
BMW Championship will attempt to be concluded today after torrential rain battered the Aronimink Golf Club here in Pennsylvania yesterday.
There could yet be a 54-hole finish after more than three inches of rain fell over the week. Justin Rose holds the lead after three rounds with Holywood’s Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele just a shot back.
But with conditions both on and around the course increasingly treacherous the decision was made to postpone yesterday’s play.
“We’ve got kind of a mess out there,” the PGA Tour’s vice president of rules and competition Slugger White said.
“As of right now (Sunday afternoon), the golf course is unplayable. If it stopped raining right now for a couple hours, we might be able to get to play. The greens are fine, the bunkers are going to be fine.
“We’ve got teeing grounds that are very marginal, and we’ve got fairways that are very marginal. We obviously need it to stop right now so we have two to two and a half hours to let it drain down and get the maintenance crew out there to see if we can push some water around.’’
The Tour’s goal is still to comtain’s plete a 72-hole tournament but in the event that cannot happen today, a Tuesday finish is not being considered.
“Nor would we start a round on Monday thinking we could not get half the field finished,” White added.
In the event of a shortened competition full ranking and FedEx Cup points would be awarded along with the full $9m prize fund.
A number of the world’s top players will be looking anxiously at the skies with places at the season-ending Tour Championship in a fortnight’s time at stake.
Jordan Spieth is one of those on the top 30 bubble and at 31st in the standings would be set to miss out on a place at East Lake as things stand.
The final wildcard pick for Jim Furyk’s United States Ryder Cup team, originally scheduled for today, won’t be made until the conclusion of the BMW – whenever that comes — with Schauffele and Tony Finau the two likely candidates for a place in Paris yet to learn their fate.
With regard Europe’s team, Matt Fitzpatrick has no issues with being left out, despite winning the Omega European Masters title in Switzerland.
The Englishman claimed a play-off victory over Lucas Bjerregaard to become the first man since Seve Ballesteros in 1978 to defend the crown in the week where he missed out on a capTHE
bite bite: the rain-lashed course at Aronimink Golf Club in Pennsylvania where play was postponed yesterday
pick for this month’s match play competition.
European skipper Thomas Bjorn chose to go with experience for his four wild cards, picking Ian Poulter, Paul Casey, Henrik Stenson and Sergio Garcia, meaning Fitzpatrick will have to wait to add to his 2016 appearance.
The 24-year-old accepts he has not played well enough to warrant a call.
Asked if he had any regrets at missing out, he said: “Not at all,
genuinely I don’t.
“I didn’t play well enough this summer, it’s as simple as that.
“I don’t hold anything against Thomas for not picking me, I completely understand why he has gone for experience, it is vital in Ryder Cups.
“This is what I wanted to achieve this season — another win. To get it here is so special and to get my fifth is amazing.”
Fitzpatrick had to work hard for his repeat success in the Swiss Alps, though, as he needed
to birdie the final hole to force a play-off — despite coming into the final round with a two-shot lead.
Meanwhile, Simon Thornton posted a fine eight under 65 to win the St Michael’s House ProAm at St Margaret’s Golf and Country Club.
On a day of low scoring, the Tulfarris Golf Resort professional finished one shot ahead of Richard O’Donovan (Dun Laoghaire GC) and Tim Rice (Limerick GC). IRELAND manager Neil Booth insists his young team can hold their heads high following there showing in the Under-25 Home International Series at Belmont over the weekend.
The Irish youngsters may have managed only a third-place finish, after yesterday’s defeat by England, but Booth believes the positives easily outweighed the negatives after the two-day event.
It didn’t start well as the Irish fell to a 34-shots defeat to Scotland — the eventual champions — in their opener, but they bounced back to claim a 20 shots victory against Wales.
That result kept the Irish – with six debutants and one recall to the side that finished runners-up to the Scots 12 months ago — in with a shout of lifting the title for the first time since Londonderry back in 2010.
However, England yesterday scuppered any chances of a home celebration by running out 29 shot winners.
Booth, however, was full of praise for his team, saying: “They can be proud of their performance. The aim is to progress ” Results
Ireland 98 Scotland 132: A McKeown 11 C Milne 19, R Kirkwood 19 J Banks 18, M Jones 15LMcKay22,JWatson15CBurns24,J Moffett 22 J Fleming 18, S Kirkwood 16 P Kane 31.
England 146 Wales 97: SSteel15ROwen 15, L Sabatini 24 J Davies 16, N Kitchen 27 D Hardy 11, R Atkins 21 M John 28, C Souter 21 K Crocker 20, C Cinato 38 R Boots 7. Ireland 130 Wales 110: J Moffett 19 K Crocker 23, S Kirkwood 24 R Boots 17, A McKeown 23 R Owen 14, R Kirkwood 21 J Davies 19, M Jones 21 D Hardy 20, J Watson 22 M John 17.
Scotland 108 England 100: J Fleming 16 C Souter 18, P Kane 18 C Cinato 12, C Milne 18 S Steel 15, J Banks 19 L Sabatini 18, L McKay 14 N Kitchen 18, C Burns 23 R Atkins 19. Wales 127 Scotland 128: D Hardy 22 L McKay 20, M John 23 C Burns 14, K Crocker 30 J Fleming 18, R Jackson 9 P Kane 30, R Owen 24 C Milne 20, J Davies 19 J Banks 26. Ireland 100 England 129 :MJones17N Kitchen 24, J Watson 16 R Atkins 22, J Moffett 12 C Souter 22, S Kirkwood 13 C Cinato 26, A McKeown 16 S Steel 18, R Kirkwood 26 L Sabatini 17.
Final positions: 1 Scotland 6pts, 2 England 4pts, 3 Ireland 2 pts, 4 Wales 0pts.